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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30127353">To Temper Steel</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceraunichor/pseuds/ceraunichor'>ceraunichor</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Blood and Gore, Coder!George, Dream SMP Ensemble - Freeform, Dream Smp, Explosions, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm aware not all these people are in MCC, MCC - Freeform, Major Character Injury, Major burns, Murphy's Law, Older Sibling Technoblade, Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Parent Phil Watson, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade, SBI family dynamics, Self-Inflicted Injury, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, coder!Dream, coder!Fundy, healer!Ant, healer!Tubbo, minecraft championship, sleepy bois inc - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:41:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,268</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30127353</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceraunichor/pseuds/ceraunichor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff"><p>TW// Blood, Violence</p></div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream &amp; GeorgeNotFound &amp; Sapnap, Niki | Nihachu &amp; Wilbur Soot, No Romantic Relationship(s), Sleepy Bois Inc - Relationship, TommyInnit &amp; Technoblade, Tommyinnit &amp; Tubbo, Wilbur Soot &amp; Technoblade, Wilbur Soot &amp; Technoblade &amp; TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. i</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW// Blood, Violence</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You think that the mobs we kill like, haunt us?” Tommy said suddenly from his spot on the ground, causing his team to groan. </p><p>“No, but seriously. What if every single mob we’ve ever killed is just waiting in the afterlife for us? What if we’re the bad guys? I mean, they just mind their own business and we just walk up and kill them.” Tommy gestured emphatically and shifted to lean against a tree trunk. </p><p>“To be fair, they attack us first. Most of the time.” Tubbo reasoned, peeking out from the bush he was hiding behind. “Besides, we need to pay attention. We’re literally in the middle of survival games, and Dream is right over there.”</p><p>“But still! I’m sure all of us have killed a spider during the day when it wouldn’t attack us, and I’m sure we’ve all gone out of our way to attack a mob when we could have gotten away without killing it. Just imagine it: you’ve died and you’re in the afterlife when suddenly—”</p><p>“Tommy! Shut up!” Wilbur interrupted from in the tree just above Tommy, hissing out a breath of frustration and keeping his eyes on Dream and Sapnap who were slowly moving across the road. His vision crackled with static for a moment, but he shook his head and ignored it. “Where are Karl and George?” Wilbur whispered. </p><p>“I’m not sure…” Techno muttered from next to Wilbur, moving his hand to the hilt of his sword. “It's too quiet. I don’t like it.”</p><p>“Well, yeah. The idiot finally shut up.” Wilbur scoffed before pausing. “Which... isn’t like him.”</p><p>“Yeah, he never shuts up when we ask him to.” Techno agreed. </p><p>They looked at each other, realization dawning on them like a blood red sun. Wilbur flicked his eyes downward, sucking in a sharp breath. </p><p>Tommy lay slumped against the tree, unconscious. His hair framed his face in a soft halo, his sword thudding softly to the grass as his hand went limp. </p><p>“Tommy!” Tubbo yelped, having come to the same conclusion, and rushed over to him. </p><p>Dream’s head snapped up at the sudden noise, and he gestured to Sapnap, pointing in their direction. Techno dropped out of the tree, his cloak billowing behind him, and drew his sword. Wilbur quickly followed, crouching next to Tubbo. </p><p>“What's wrong with him?” Wilbur asked worriedly.</p><p>“I don’t know!” Tubbo cried. </p><p>Techno tensed. Tubbo was one of the best healers he knew. If Tubbo didn’t know what was wrong, he wasn’t sure anyone would. </p><p>“His breathing is normal, and his heart rate is fine too. He’s a bit pale, but from what I can see, he’s not injured. The problem has to be internal,” Tubbo went through the basic examination process, panicking slightly. </p><p>“Internal… so, something really bad.” Wilbur said softly. “Well, at least something you can’t fix while we’re in the middle of a Championship,” he amended. </p><p>Tubbo shook his head sadly. </p><p>“Guys, Dream and Sapnap are heading our way. I don’t know where Karl and George are, but they’re probably somewhere—” Techno choked out a yell of surprise, barely bringing his sword up to block in time, the clang of metal striking metal ringing through the trees. “Here! Wilbur, get over here!”</p><p>Wilbur lurched to his feet, “Tubbo, protect Tommy! I’ll see what I can do about this fight.” He ran off towards Techno, drawing his sword. </p><p>Tubbo lifted Tommy’s eyelids slightly, flashing a small piece of glowstone in his eyes. “Tommy, c’mon man! Wake up!”</p><p>Tubbo heard leaves rustling behind him, but he was too caught up in his worry to think much of it. </p><p>“Well, what do we have here?” Dream asked pleasantly. Tubbo jolted, turning to face the newcomer. “Two kids, all alone in a forest. Hey, Sap, c’mere! Free points for…” Dream trailed off, taking a closer look at the two teens on the ground. Tubbo held a dagger in one hand, keeping his other hand protectively on Tommy’s leg. </p><p>Sapnap stepped out of the shadows, smirking. He lifted his axe a bit higher, waiting for Dream to make the first move. </p><p>“Wait.” Dream said, lifting a hand up to Sapnap. He set his axe against a tree and slowly stepped towards Tubbo, hands in the air. “Unofficial pause, okay? I just want to help.” Tubbo watched him approach warily, keeping his dagger steady, unsure if it was a trick. </p><p>“What happened?” Dream pressed gently, his hands absentmindedly drifting to check the strap of his mask. </p><p>Tubbo hesitated, flicking his eyes to Sapnap who promptly dropped his axe and sat down in the dirt, resting his chin on his hand as he examined his chipped black nail polish. </p><p>“Oh, god. I don’t know!” Tubbo cried, dropping his dagger and spinning back to Tommy. “He just passed out! One minute he was rambling about something stupid, and the next he was completely unconscious.” Tubbo gently ran his fingers along the back of Tommy’s neck, bumping across vertebrae. “I need more equipment to figure out what’s wrong, but we’re in the middle of a Championship! Plus, Tommy will never forgive us if we drop out ‘cause something happened to him.”</p><p>Dream crouched down next to Tubbo, watching Tommy curiously. “Would it help if you had a second healer?”</p><p>Tubbo shrugged. “Maybe. Depending on who it was. If they have more field experience, then definitely. They might have at least some idea of what could be wrong.”</p><p>Sapnap blew out a puff of air. “Oh, right. Aren’t you more specialized in like, everyday injuries and stuff? Not trauma or serious injuries.”</p><p>“We don’t often have those, so I haven’t had much experience with them,” Tubbo shifted, frustrated that he couldn’t do his job when his friend needed him. </p><p>Dream turned slightly to face Sapnap. “Where did we last see Ant?” </p><p>“Back down the road a bit. He and Quackity were crossing the stream, scouting ahead for their team.” </p><p>“Go find him.”</p><p>Sapnap stood up, stretching. He grabbed his axe and strapped it across his back before taking off. </p><p>The sound of an ongoing fight drifted through the clearing, and Tubbo’s head snapped towards the noise. </p><p>“Wilbur! Techno!” Tubbo shouted, grabbing his fallen dagger. He turned towards Dream, desperation written on his face. “Dream, we have to stop them!”  </p><p>“Oh, <em> shit</em>,” Dream cursed. “George, Karl! Stop!” He yelled, snatching his axe and running to stop the fight. Tubbo glanced at Tommy, quickly decided he wasn’t going anywhere, and ran after Dream. </p><p>Dream rushed into the clearing, taking a moment to observe. His eyes widened as he saw George taking Techno on by himself. “Oh, you idiot!” Dream hissed. George pulled back slightly, getting ready to swing at Techno, but Dream lunged forward, swinging his axe up and blocking George’s attack. </p><p>“Dream?” George asked, surprised. </p><p>“Stop!” Dream commanded, adrenaline flooding his senses, every fiber of his being now itching for a fight. George hesitated, then sheathed his sword, nodding reluctantly. Techno stepped back, and Dream watched him closely. Techno nodded once, and slid his sword into a sheath at his hip. Dream sighed in relief, his instinct to fight conceding slightly. </p><p>Dream turned to the other fight, wincing as Wilbur landed a glancing blow across Karl’s rib cage. He got ready to run to his aid when he saw something dart across the clearing out of the corner of his eye. </p><p>Suddenly, Tubbo was in between Karl and Wilbur, his wicked looking daggers grasped firmly in each hand. </p><p>Wilbur shouted in surprise, unable to stop his sword from the downward arch it was already in. Tubbo spun on his heel, bringing his daggers up in an X, neatly blocking the hit. Tubbo shifted, sweeping a leg under Wilbur and forcing him onto the ground. Karl lifted his sword warily, unsure why Tubbo had attacked his own teammate. </p><p>Dream continued to watch, amusement pulling his mouth into a small smile. </p><p>Tubbo bounced lightly on his feet, watching every move Karl made. Karl lunged forward, and Tubbo stepped to the side, already in motion from his bouncing. Karl wobbled, unbalanced from his thrust and his injured side, and Tubbo flipped a dagger to push him with the hilt. Karl toppled, and Tubbo lazily pointed the other dagger at him. </p><p>Dream whistled, impressed. “Well, note to self: Tubbo is stronger than he looks.”</p><p>Tubbo smiled proudly before glancing worriedly in the direction he had left Tommy in. </p><p>Dream caught the glance, and smiled softly. “Tubbo, I’ll handle things here. Go to Tommy.”</p><p>Tubbo nodded. “Come over to us as soon as you can.” He sheathed his daggers at his waist and sprinted off towards Tommy. </p><p>Dream nodded, strapping his axe to his back and stepping forward to help pull Karl and Wilbur to their feet. </p><p>Tubbo leapt over an exposed tree root, rushing back to Tommy. He slowed down as he approached, stopping completely when he saw two people next to his unconscious friend. His fingers twitched towards one of his daggers, but the cool kiss of metal against his throat made him freeze. </p><p>“I wouldn’t.”</p><p>Tubbo scrambled to place the voice. “Skeppy?”</p><p>“What’s it to you?”</p><p>“Skeppy!” Bad lurched out of the shadows. “That’s Tubbo, let him go!”</p><p>“Oh, my bad.” Skeppy laughed, bringing his sword away from Tubbo’s neck. </p><p>Tubbo let out a sigh of relief, touching his throat. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me!”</p><p>“Language!” Bad reprimanded. </p><p>“Oh, sorry,” Tubbo apologized. “So is that Ant and Quackity by Tommy?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Skeppy replied, driving his sword into the ground and resting on the hilt. “Ant’s taking a look at Tommy, Quackity is there to dissuade any potential attackers, and Bad and I are the defense if anyone decides to attack anyways.”</p><p>“Wow, you guys are on top of it,” Tubbo commented, impressed. “Where’s Sapnap?”</p><p>“He said he was going to try to find a moderator.” Bad said, glancing out at the road as he spoke, trying to spot anyone approaching. </p><p>“Smart. They might know something, and we might even be able to convince them to pause the event.” Tubbo started making his way over to Ant, pausing to turn slightly. “By the way, Dream’s team minus Sapnap and the rest of my team are going to be heading this way soon. Please, <em> please</em>, don’t kill them.” </p><p>Skeppy pouted, making Bad laugh. “Alright, I’ll keep this muffin from hurting them.”</p><p>Tubbo jogged over to the other two, nodding at Quackity before crouching beside Ant. “What do you think?”</p><p>Ant sighed, not surprised by Tubbo’s sudden appearance. “It could be any number of things, some deadly and some easily fixed by just waiting it out. We need to get him scanned, but I’m pretty sure they don’t have medical equipment in the events.”</p><p>Tubbo frowned. “Would they have some in the moderator hall? I feel like they should, just in case something went wrong with a player.”</p><p>“Yeah, like last Championship,” Quackity murmured. </p><p>Tubbo shuddered, splaying his hand sympathetically against his rib cage. The coding that allowed them to die in events and respawn just fine in the spectator stands had glitched, leaving Punz with a punctured lung and severe blood loss that had taken three healing potions and a golden apple to remedy. </p><p>“Do you know if Tommy ate anything he found during the event?” Ant asked. </p><p>“No, I don’t. Why?” </p><p>“Technically, the event coding prevents anything you eat from affecting you too severely during an event. That way, if you’re low on food, you can pick up some rotten flesh and eat it without as many adverse effects.”</p><p>“So you’re worried that the coding glitched again, and Tommy ate something he shouldn’t have?” Tubbo asked, skeptical.  </p><p>“It's one explanation. Like I said, we won’t know for sure until we get him scanned.” Ant paused, one ear twitching. “Sapnap’s coming. He’s got company.”</p><p>Sapnap ducked under a branch, waving a hand in greeting. “Found one.”</p><p>“How—” Quackity started, but Ant just smiled. </p><p>“I've practiced for manhunt enough to know when people are approaching. Especially the four in the manhunt with me. Plus, I've got these,” Ant gestured up at his ears, tail flicking lazily behind him. </p><p>Quackity laughed nervously, eyeing Ant’s cat ears. He leaned over to Tubbo, whispering, “I’m sorry that you’re not on our team, he’s kinda scary when he gets in the zone.”</p><p>“Am not.” Ant protested. </p><p>“What the fuck? You heard that?”</p><p>“Yeah? And I'm not scary!”</p><p>Bad walked over, dragging Skeppy by his hood. “Yes, you are. When you focus, you get all serious and it’s kinda scary, but that’s not a bad thing! I think it’s really cool! It’s like nothing can deter you from your goal.” Bad smiled warmly at Ant, reassuring him. “Oh, Tubbo,” Bad said, hitting his fist on the palm of his hand as he remembered why he had walked over in the first place. “Everyone else is on their way.”</p><p>“Oh, thank god. I thought Dream might’ve pissed Techno off,” Tubbo chuckled. </p><p>“He did,” Techno grumbled, pushing past Quackity and Tubbo to stand on the other side of the small clearing, his cloak catching a breeze and fluttering slightly. </p><p>“Oh—” Tubbo started. </p><p>“Yeah, sorry about that,” Dream apologized, very obviously hiding George behind him. Tubbo glanced between Techno and Dream, confused. </p><p>Wilbur crouched next to Tubbo, trying not to laugh and failing miserably. “Techno’s upset that he didn’t get to finish the, and I quote, ‘violent dance of a duel that my enemy has invited me to.’”</p><p>Tubbo snickered, ignoring the glare Techno threw his way. </p><p>“If I'm going to accept a challenge, I intend to finish it!” Techno protested. </p><p>“Well, that’s fine, but calling a fight a ‘violent dance’ <em> is </em> a little ridiculous,” Bad said in all seriousness, crooking his fingers into air quotes. </p><p>Techno gaped up at him, mouth forming words but no sound escaping. </p><p>Wilbur’s mouth dropped into a small ‘o’ as he watched the very bewildered Techno. “I forgot he was afraid of Bad,” he stage whispered. </p><p>“Shut up!” Techno spluttered, adjusting the pig skull he wore as a mask to hide the embarrassed flush that was spreading across his cheeks. </p><p>Dream started wheezing, clutching at his stomach while Bad tilted his head, a perfect picture of confusion. </p><p>“Oh, great.” Techno grumbled. “Someone left the teapot on the stove.”</p><p>“<em>T</em><em>eapot</em>,” Wilbur mocked in a bad American accent. </p><p>“I’m sorry, would you prefer <em>kettle</em>?” Techno snapped. </p><p>“Techno, just because you’re upset doesn’t mean you get to take it out on the people around you.” Bad scolded him sternly. </p><p>Techno lifted a finger, hesitated, and slumped against a tree. </p><p>Wilbur covered his mouth as he laughed quietly, his shoulders shaking. </p><p>Tubbo smiled at the two brothers' antics before a vibrant hoodie caught his eye. “Karl! I meant to ask earlier, but do you want me to take a look at your side?”</p><p>Karl jolted, knocking his head on the tree trunk he was sitting against. He searched the faces around him for Tubbo’s. “Mmm… yeah…” </p><p>“Uh… Karl?” Sapnap asked. </p><p>“Hmm?” Karl hummed, head lolling to the side. Sapnap looked at Tubbo, pointing towards Karl. </p><p>“That’s not normal.” Sapnap stated. </p><p>“No, it’s not.” Tubbo softly agreed. He walked over to Karl, leaning down slightly. “Karl, how many fingers am I holding up?”</p><p>Karl laughed breathily before confidently replying, “That’s a stupid honking question. 8.” </p><p>Tubbo looked down at the three fingers he was holding up, and dropped his head in defeat. “No, Karl,” he said patiently. </p><p>“What do you mean?” Karl complained, slurring his words. </p><p>Tubbo spun, exasperated. “Wilbur!”</p><p>“Hey! It wasn’t my sword!” Wilbur protested. </p><p>“What do you mean, it wasn’t your sword?” Tubbo calmly asked, but he was screaming internally. <em> Not his sword? Was it fucking Herobrine’s sword, then? </em></p><p>“I <em> mean</em>, Karl disarmed me pretty early on and I pulled one off of Techno!” Wilbur pointed over to Techno. </p><p>Techno straightened up, the portion of his face not covered by his mask completely blank, and pulled his robes to the side. His fingers danced over weapons that were strapped all over his body, and everyone stared at him in shock. </p><p>“What the actual fuck…” Quackity breathed. “How does he have so many?”</p><p>Techno’s fingers stilled as he reached an empty sheath on his thigh. “Will… give me the sword.”</p><p>Wilbur froze, the quiet fury in Techno’s voice sending a chill down his spine. “Um… yeah, of course.” Wilbur scrambled for the sword he had dropped at his feet, nearly tripping as he rushed to give it back to Techno. Techno grabbed the blade by the hilt, examining the small sword. It was really more of a long dagger, now that Tubbo actually looked at it. Techno blew out a breath, puffing his cheeks out and grabbing a small cloth from his pocket, wiping the blood off of the polished metal. </p><p>“Look, I’m sorry I took your sword… dagger… thingy… but I was desperate! I was in the middle of a fight!” Wilbur explained frantically. </p><p>“Wilbur, I’m not upset that you took the dagger. I’m actually impressed that you took it without me noticing, and you did it while we were both fighting.” Techno placated, dropping the ‘g’ at the end of his words.  </p><p>“Then why—”</p><p>“It’s the only poisoned blade I have on me,” Techno murmured. </p><p>Wilbur paled, glancing over at Karl who was looking worse by the second. </p><p>Tubbo dropped to his knees next to Karl, taking his pulse. “Techno, what was on the blade?”</p><p>“Well, you see—”</p><p>“Techno! Answer the damn question!” Tubbo spun around, fire blazing in his eyes. Techno swallowed thickly.  </p><p>“A mixture of decay and slowness.”</p><p>Tubbo turned back to Karl, slipping his shard of glow stone out of his pocket to check the dilation of his pupils.</p><p>“But it’s fine, right? We’re in an event, so he’ll just respawn in the spectator stands!” Wilbur silently begged Tubbo to reassure him, unable to bear the thought of killing Karl. </p><p>“Ant, how’re you doing over there?” Tubbo ignored Wilbur, checking Karl’s pulse once more. </p><p>“Tommy’s still out. The moderator says we can have a five minute break, but we can’t use the medical equipment until after the event because of the regulations.”</p><p>“<em>Fuck </em> the regulations!” Tubbo spat, standing quickly and stalking over to the moderator. “I don’t care what the fucking rules are, I’m not letting Karl or Tommy die permanently because your damn code is glitching!”</p><p>Wilbur and Techno jolted, spinning to look at each other. “Static,” they whispered, turning to look at Tommy. Tubbo glanced towards them curiously before turning his rage back towards the moderator. </p><p>The moderator coldly observed the small healer through his mask that was flashing with green ones and zeroes. “I’m being generous by giving you a five minute break.”</p><p>“Generous, my ass!” Tubbo screamed, drawing one of his daggers. He darted forward, slashing out and catching the moderator across the chest. The moderator brought a hand up and swiped it through his blood, shocked. </p><p>George inhaled sharply. “Moderators aren’t supposed to be able to get injured during events...”</p><p>Dream shoved his way forward, grabbing Tubbo by the shoulders and shaking him slightly. “What do you mean, die permanently? Glitchy code?”</p><p>“Remember when the code glitched for Punz and he nearly died?”</p><p>Everyone nodded slowly, not liking what Tubbo was getting at. </p><p>“Ant and I are worried the same thing is happening today, and I’m not taking any chances with the lives of my patients.” Tubbo snarled, glaring at the moderator as he twisted out of Dream’s grip. “The fact that you’re bleeding is just more proof that your code is glitching.”</p><p>The moderator swallowed, still staring at the blood coating his fingers. “You… you may be right.”</p><p>Tubbo barked out a short laugh. “You think? You need to cancel the Championship. People are going to get hurt.” As Tubbo finished speaking, an explosion followed by a loud scream pierced through the trees. </p><p>Wilbur spun. “Niki?” He shouted, eyes filled with fear. </p><p>Tubbo turned to Ant. “You, Wilbur, Sapnap, and Quackity go figure out what that was. Moderator, you go end this event <em> right now </em> or I’ll do more than just scratch you.” Tubbo threatened, tightening his grip on his dagger. The moderator nodded, his hands shaking, quickly turning and flying away towards the moderator hall. </p><p>“Techno and Dream, I need you to stay with me and make sure Tommy, Karl, and I stay safe while I do what I can to help them.” They both nodded, and Dream pulled the axe off of his back, his mask hiding the determined smile on his face. </p><p>“George, Bad, and Skeppy, go tell as many people as you can that the code is glitched, and that we need to stop fighting <em> now </em> . Tell them to gather the injured in an open space and have anyone who knows any, and I mean <em> any</em>, healing start helping.” </p><p>“Alright.” George said, turning to Bad and Skeppy. “You ready?” They nodded, and the three of them took off in different directions. </p><p>Techno nodded respectfully at Tubbo. “You handled that really well.”</p><p>“Did I?” Tubbo asked, suddenly flustered. “I’ve been working on being more confident,” he admitted. </p><p>“Oh, is that why you keep meeting up with Eret?” Dream questioned. </p><p>“How— you know what? I’ve learned not to question how you know things.” Tubbo paused. “But, yeah. I asked him to help me, and he agreed.”</p><p>Techno hummed. “Eret’s always pretty confident, even if she’s got swords pointed at her from every direction.”</p><p>Tubbo nodded energetically. “That’s why I asked him to help me. I figured if anyone would be able to help, he would.” Tubbo turned back to Karl. “Anyways, I've got two patients. You can protect three people, right? I mean, two of them are either unconscious or nearly unconscious, so it’s really more like protecting one person and two sacks of meat,” Tubbo rambled absentmindedly, taking Karl’s pulse once more. </p><p>“Sacks of meat!” Dream wheezed, his voice much higher than usual. </p><p>Techno snorted, pulling his sword from the sheath on his hip, and grabbing a dagger from his calf as well. “Yeah, we got this.” </p><p>Tubbo pressed the back of his hand to Karl’s forehead, taking his temperature as best he could. Karl stared vacantly into the distance, his breathing shallow. Tubbo sighed, chewing on his lip. He dropped his hand and started picking at the grass, frustrated. </p><p>“What’s wrong?” Dream asked, concerned for both Tubbo and Karl. </p><p>“There’s only so much I can do,” Tubbo muttered. “I don’t have any supplies on me, and I haven’t seen any chests we could loot nearby.”</p><p>A quiet whimper from behind Tubbo caused him to jump to his feet and run to Tommy. </p><p>“Tommy?” Tubbo whispered urgently. “Tommy, can you hear me?”</p><p>When Tommy didn’t respond, Tubbo groaned. “I feel so useless…” </p><p>“Should we go try to find the other healers?” Techno spoke up from the other side of the clearing. “They might have some more supplies, and if there are enough injured in one place, we can probably convince the moderators to give us what we need.”</p><p>Dream tilted his head, weighing their options. “It could work. The thing is, if Techno’s carrying Tommy and I’m carrying Karl, that leaves one person to defend four people. We only have three people running around telling people to stop fighting, and it’s not even guaranteed that everyone will believe them.”</p><p>“You have a point,” Tubbo bit his thumb. “But I think it’s our only option. Karl isn’t doing well, and Tommy is still unresponsive.” He caught Techno watching Karl sadly, and he made his way over. </p><p>“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Tubbo said quietly, cautiously putting a hand on Techno’s shoulder. </p><p>“I know,” Techno whispered, “but I made the poison and submitted it to the Championship, and I can’t help but think that I made it too strong.”</p><p>“The fact that you were able to successfully combine slowness and decay into a poison that you could then put on a blade is really impressive. Not many people can do that,” Dream complimented Techno. “Besides, Karl’s strong. He’ll pull through. He doesn’t give up, and that’s not about to change.” He bent down by Karl, ruffling his hair and grimacing when his hand came away sweaty and grimy. “Although he could use a bath,” he commented. </p><p>Karl whined softly as Dream pulled away, lifting his arms to weakly grab at the front of Dream’s hoodie, instead meeting the hard iron of Dream’s chestplate and scrabbling to find purchase. Dream laughed softly, gently pushing Karl’s hands away. “He’s also very clingy.” Dream stood, pulling Karl up with him. Karl swayed, but Dream reached out to steady him before resting his axe against the tree. </p><p>“Hey, man. I’m gonna help you climb on my back, alright?” Dream mumbled softly, guiding Karl behind him and crouching down. Karl put his arms over Dream’s shoulders, and Dream stood slowly, adjusting his balance with the added weight. He brought his hands to the backs of Karl’s thighs, bringing his legs up to cross at the ankle in front of him. Dream took a few cautious steps, picking his axe up and swinging it experimentally. </p><p>“If Karl doesn’t pass out, I don’t have to hold on to him, and I can fight a bit without putting him down and leaving him vulnerable.” Dream said, turning back to Tubbo and Techno. </p><p>“Good. I won’t be able to fight at all,” Techno nodded to the unconscious Tommy cradled against his chest. “I'm going to have to carry him like this. I tried to carry him piggyback, but I almost dropped him. He’s completely out.”</p><p>Dream snorted, and Techno glared up at him.</p><p>“What?” Techno grumbled. </p><p>“Piggyback,” Dream wheezed, and Techno rolled his eyes. “Do you get it? You’ve got the pig skull and—”</p><p>“Yeah, I get it.” Techno interrupted, unamused. </p><p>“Oh, c’mon,” Dream drawled. “Lighten up, pig boy.”</p><p>Tubbo raised one eyebrow, glancing over at Dream, clearly unimpressed. “Pig boy?”</p><p>“Not my best, I’ll admit.” Dream shifted, adjusting Karl’s position on his back. “We should get going.” He started walking off, but Tubbo called out to him. </p><p>“Let’s go this way,” Tubbo pointed over his shoulder. “I want to make sure Wilbur’s alright.” As he finished speaking, another scream sounded through the trees, and Dream turned grimly towards the direction it had come from, making his way towards the others. </p><p>Techno pushed Tommy up slightly, using his forearm as a makeshift seat. He brought his other arm across Tommy’s back and rested his hand on the back of Tommy’s head, holding the unconscious boy up. “Tubbo, will you cross his ankles behind me?”</p><p>“I can try, but they probably won’t stay,” Tubbo moved behind Techno, pulling Tommy’s legs forward to try and anchor him. </p><p>“That’ll have to do,” Techno stepped forward, watching as Dream’s figure got smaller and smaller in the distance. “I’ll stay in the middle since I can’t fight.”</p><p>Tubbo nodded, drawing his daggers. “Let’s go.”</p><p>Techno ran as fast as he could with Tommy in his arms, Tubbo maintaining a short distance between them. Tubbo scanned the trees, looking for any threats. </p><p>A shrill scream rang through the forest from just ahead, and Tubbo jerked his head towards it. </p><p>Techno slowed down cautiously. “I didn’t recognize the scream, but that’s not saying much,” he muttered as Tubbo reached him. </p><p>“Let’s keep going.” Tubbo replied, already moving again. He let Techno pull ahead, ready to protect the two brothers if anyone attacked. </p><p>They sprinted into a small clearing nearly identical to the one they had left behind, blinking at the sudden sunlight. </p><p>As soon as Tubbo’s eyes adjusted to the brightness, he gasped, running forward and narrowly missing the giant crater in the middle of the clearing. </p><p>“Oh god… Ant, is there anything I can do?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. ii</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW// Blood, Violence, Major Injuries, Amputation, Burns, Seizures, Cauterization</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Oh god… Ant, is there anything I can do?”</p><p>Ant shook his head, covered in blood. “Another pair of hands will just make it busy over here right now. We need healing potions and gapples, but no one has any, and there aren’t any chests around.” He pushed harder, trying to staunch the blood. “Dream, I need your hoodie,” Ant called, not looking up. “You wouldn’t happen to have a flint and steel, would you?” Ant asked Tubbo, sparing a glance to see his response. Tubbo shook his head slightly after checking his inventory, and Ant sighed. </p><p>Dream turned away from where he had left Karl against a tree, undoing the straps on his chestplate. He pulled his hoodie off in one swift motion, leaving him in a black high-necked athletic tank top. He jogged over, readjusting his mask. He dropped the hoodie into Ant’s waiting hand, flinching as he saw why he needed it. </p><p>“God, what happened?” Dream whispered. </p><p>Eret winced as they waved at Dream and Tubbo. “Come over here and I’ll tell you. Let Ant work.”</p><p>Dream and Tubbo made their way over, Techno jogging over as well, and Tubbo started to examine the gash on Eret’s arm. “You talk, I’ll clean this up,” Tubbo said, leaving no room for argument. Eret nodded, sitting against a tree and lifting his arm for Tubbo. Tubbo sat next to him, examining the wound. </p><p>“Niki and I were trying to get to a chest back that way a bit,” Eret tipped her head back, gesturing as best she could and smiling grimly at Techno as he sat down nearby, “and Fundy and Purpled were scouting ahead in this area to make sure we wouldn’t get surprised by anyone.” Eret stopped, clenching her eyes shut as another ragged scream tore out from underneath Ant.</p><p>“Niki tripped and fell pretty hard, and she yelped in surprise which made Fundy run back to us. So the three of us were together, and Purpled was by himself. We found him over in this clearing, and he ran over to us when he saw us coming.” Eret bit his lip, glancing over at Ant. “There was a tripwire,” they whispered. “Purpled caught his foot on it, and set about five blocks of TNT off, based on how big the crater is.”</p><p>Dream inhaled sharply. “Oh god…” he breathed. “He should’ve died…”</p><p>“But the code is glitching,” Tubbo finished, murmuring. </p><p>“You all noticed it too?” Eret asked. “What happened to you guys?”</p><p>Tubbo sighed, pressing hard on Eret’s arm and making him wince. “Ah, sorry. Tommy passed out for no reason, and I may have cut a moderator and made him bleed.”</p><p>“You— you what?” Eret laughed, shocked</p><p>“He wasn’t listening to me, so I cut him to prove that the code was glitching.” Tubbo said nonchalantly. </p><p>Techno put his hands up. “Hold up, we’re not done with your story.”</p><p>Eret nodded, exhaling slowly. “I’m sure you saw how bad Purpled is, but I’ll tell you anyways. He’s missing both legs from just above the knee down, and the rest of his body is badly burned and bleeding. Ant’s doing all he can, but we’re not sure if he’s going to make it.”</p><p>“And your injuries?” Dream asked. </p><p>“From the explosion. Purpled got the worst of it, and Fundy has some bad burns and cuts on his back from shielding Niki. I was a bit further back, so I only have the one cut on my arm. I think Niki’s just in shock, but can you blame her?”</p><p>“So the first scream we heard was Niki, then the second and third were Purpled,” Dream thought out loud. “Did he pass out right after the explosion?”</p><p>“Yeah. When he woke up, Ant was already trying to stop the bleeding.”</p><p>“Tubbo! Techno!” Ant shouted frantically, desperately trying to hold a thrashing Purpled down. “I need you!”</p><p>Tubbo shot up, running over. “What do you need?”</p><p>Ant mumbled incident management guidelines under his breath to ground himself as he forced a stick between Purpled’s teeth. “Techno, I need you to hold him down.” Techno nodded, dropping next to him and pulling his pig skull mask off. Ant turned back to Purpled, addressing Tubbo. “I can’t get the bleeding to stop, but we can slow it down,” he paused, pulling his sleeve into his mouth and ripping a shred of fabric off. “I’m going to focus on his legs, you clean up the burns and cuts on the rest of his body.” </p><p>Tubbo nodded, crouching down next to Purpled. “Hey man,” he whispered softly, gently stroking his forehead, careful to avoid the angry burns there. “We’ve got you, okay?” Purpled shuddered in agony as Ant pressed a wad of fabric to what was left of his left leg. He choked out a scream, tears spilling out of the corners of his eyes.</p><p>Tubbo waved a hand in the air, trying to get someone’s attention. “I need a bucket of water over here <em>now</em>!”</p><p>Sapnap jumped up. “I saw a bucket down by the river when I was looking for Ant, I’ll go get it.”</p><p>Tubbo brought a bloody hand to the hem of his shirt, gripping it tightly before ripping a strip off. He took a shaky breath and closed his eyes, allowing himself a moment of uncertainty. Sapnap returned and ran over to him, careful not to spill the bucket of water in his hands. He set it next to Tubbo, and Tubbo plunged the strip of his shirt into the water. He pulled it out, wringing the excess water back into the bucket, and started cleaning Purpled’s burns. His eyelashes fluttered sympathetically as Purpled winced. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” Tubbo mumbled. “I know it hurts, but if these get infected it’ll hurt a lot more.” Purpled’s eyes slowly lost focus, finally closing as he passed out again. Techno loosened his hold on Purpled, letting go when he was sure Purpled wasn’t about to wake up and start thrashing again. </p><p>Ant wilted as he saw that the strip he was holding was already soaked through. He glanced at the mangled fabric that had been Dream’s hoodie and sucked in a breath, thinking quickly. “If anyone has any extra layers on, I need them over here!” Ant called out. “Leave Karl’s hoodie on, though. He needs it.”</p><p>Niki quietly pulled her thin sweater off, placing it gently next to Ant while avoiding looking at Purpled. Fundy struggled to pull his tattered jacket off, wincing as his hastily treated burns protested. Eret stood, wordlessly helping Fundy and walking the jacket over to Ant. Sapnap grabbed the hem of his white shirt, lifting it off. </p><p>“Ew,” Dream said. “Why’d you take it off like that?”</p><p>“Like what?” Sapnap asked, confused. </p><p>“Like— Like a…” Dream gave up with a groan, throwing his hands in the air. “I don’t know.”</p><p>Sapnap rolled his eyes, dropping his shirt in front of Ant. “Thank you, Dream. Very cool.”</p><p>Ant smiled appreciatively at the small pile of clothes, wiping his hands on his pants in a futile attempt to clean off the blood. “Tubbo, will you keep pressure on Purpled’s legs while I do this?” Tubbo nodded, standing up and moving next to Ant. </p><p>Ant reached over to Tubbo, gently grabbing the hilt of one of his daggers and waiting for Tubbo to nod before slipping it out. He set to work cutting the fabric into strips, creating make-shift bandages. He picked up Fundy’s jacket, running the fabric through his fingers before setting it back down. Techno cocked his head questioningly. </p><p>“It’s not the right kind of fabric for a bandage, and it’s completely shredded in the back.” Ant explained, picking it back up and sticking his hand straight through the back. Ant bit his lip, lifting up the meager pile of cloth he had salvaged. “This isn’t going to be nearly enough,” he mumbled, handing Tubbo a new strip. Tubbo dropped his bloody cloth into the water bucket, letting the water clean it out so they could use it again. </p><p>Techno brought an arm up, pinching his red cloak between two fingers. “Would…” he started hesitantly, clearing his throat. “Would you be able to use this?”</p><p>Tubbo and Ant looked up, and Tubbo’s eyes widened once he realized what Techno was offering. </p><p>“Techno, we couldn’t take that from you!” Tubbo protested. </p><p>“Tubbo, that’s not what I asked you.” Techno stated bluntly. “Can you use it to help Purpled?”</p><p>Tubbo sighed as Ant nodded. Techno stood and undid the clasp at the front, swinging his robes off of his shoulders. </p><p>Wilbur jumped to his feet, shocked. “Techno, what’re you doing? Dad gave that to you!”</p><p>“Will, it’s fine. Purpled needs it more than I do, and can you seriously tell me it’s not what Dad would want me to do?”</p><p>“I…” Wilbur stepped forward, running his fingers across the soft fabric bundled in his brother’s arms. “No.”</p><p>Techno solemnly handed Ant his most prized possession, reminding himself that it was to help Purpled. He felt oddly vulnerable without his robes, and he crossed his arms in front of his body. </p><p>“Hey,” Wilbur pulled Techno’s arms apart, crushing him in a tight hug. “I’m proud of you. Dad will be too.” </p><p>Techno stood uncertainly for a moment before returning the hug, burying his hand in the soft hair at the back of Wilbur’s head. He rested his forehead on Wilbur’s shoulder, relaxing into his older brother’s arms. </p><p>“Will… I’m scared,” Techno admitted quietly, his voice shaky. Wilbur’s eyes widened, but he forced himself to remain calm. </p><p><em> If  </em>Techno <em> is scared, what the hell is everyone else feeling? </em></p><p>“What if Tommy doesn’t wake up? What if Karl dies? What if Purpled dies?” Techno mumbled into Wilbur’s faded yellow sweater. “Is Dad okay? Is anyone we know bleeding out somewhere, taking their last breath because of a glitchy code?”</p><p>“I…” Wilbur’s breath hitched as he tried to keep his emotions in check. “I don’t know.” A single tear slid down his cheek, and he brought a hand up to swipe it away with his thumb. “I think, for now, we just need to keep telling ourselves it’s all going to be okay. If we let ourselves think about it for too long, we’ll break, and then everyone that was depending on us to save them will be lost.”</p><p>Techno took a deep breath, fisting his hand in Wilbur’s sweater instead of his hair to avoid hurting him. Wilbur shifted slightly, grumbling as weapons poked at him from every direction. </p><p>“Jesus, man.” Wilbur complained, pulling away. “I’m trying to bond with you and your stabbing utensils are digging into me.”</p><p>Techno let out a surprised snort. “Stabbing utensils?”</p><p>“It sounded better in my head.” Wilbur shrugged. </p><p>Dream popped up next to Techno, and Wilbur yelped, putting a hand over his racing heart. </p><p>“Fuck me, that was terrifying!”</p><p>“Maybe later,” Dream responded quickly, and Wilbur could hear his grin. He rolled his eyes, folding his arms in front of him. “I heard stabbing utensils and wanted in on whatever you’re doing.” Dream continued. </p><p>“What we were doing was hugging, but Techno just has to have a knife fetish and ruin the moment.”</p><p>“Will—” Techno was cut off by a loud wheeze from Dream. </p><p>“Knife fetish!” Dream choked out. “Oh god, I’m light headed. Oh my god.” Dream crouched down, gasping for air. </p><p>“Seriously, Will? Knife fetish?” Techno asked, exasperated. </p><p>“Yeah, I’m sorry. It just went straight from my brain to my mouth. Didn’t even stop to think about it.”</p><p>“Obviously.”</p><p>“Is… is he going to be okay?” Wilbur pointed down to Dream. </p><p>“Yeah, he’ll be fine.” Sapnap said, suddenly appearing behind Wilbur. </p><p>“Jesus!” Wilbur yelled, jumping in surprise. Sapnap snickered, walking closer to Dream. </p><p>Wilbur grumbled under his breath, turning to glare at Sapnap. Sapnap just shrugged, bending down to Dream. </p><p>“Dream, it’s not that funny. Stop laughing.”</p><p>“I can’t,” he wheezed. “Knife fetish…” He collapsed into another fit of laughter and Sapnap rolled his eyes, sitting down next to Dream. </p><p>Techno glared at Wilbur, mentally berating him. Wilbur slowly inched away, feeling Techno’s anger wash over him. He saw a sudden rush of movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned just as Tubbo pushed past him, yelling orders. </p><p>“Techno, help Ant put pressure on Purpled’s legs! Sapnap… no, Quackity, hold Karl down so he doesn’t hurt himself!”</p><p>Wilbur looked around for Karl, panic flashing through his eyes when he spotted him. Karl was seizing on the ground, his mouth frothing as his eyes rolled back. Wilbur’s hand flew to cover his mouth. “Oh fuck...” he breathed. </p><p>Tubbo skidded to a halt next to Karl, Quackity close behind. He quickly flipped Karl onto his side, motioning for Quackity to hold him down. Tubbo closed his eyes, quietly measuring Karl’s heart rate. “It’s too high,” he whispered, his pupils blown wide in worry. </p><p>“What do we do?” Quackity’s voice shook, but his expression stayed steady. </p><p>Tubbo buried his head in his hands, wailing dejectedly. “I don’t have the equipment I need! I can’t do <em> anything</em>!”</p><p>“Then what the hell did you become a healer for?” Sapnap snarled, starting towards Tubbo. </p><p>Dream pushed in front of Sapnap, shaking his head. “Sapnap, don’t,” he warned. </p><p>“Why not?” Sapnap yelled, jabbing a finger at Tubbo. “So far, all he’s done is wash a couple burns and cry!” </p><p>Tubbo froze, slowly looking up at Sapnap. Dream glanced over his shoulder, and quickly stepped out of the way when he saw the quiet rage blazing in Tubbo’s usually kind eyes. He quietly moved towards Ant, knowing Tubbo wouldn’t do something that could possibly hurt the other healer. </p><p>Tubbo stood up, tilting his head to the side and innocently asking, “I’m sorry, what did you say?” </p><p>“I <em> said</em>, all you’ve done is clean a couple burns and cry!” Sapnap repeated, his frustration growing. “Ant isn’t freaking out, and he’s treating someone who’s missing limbs!”</p><p>Tubbo laughed darkly. “Right,” he drawled. “I <em> definitely </em> don’t deserve to cry even though my best friend lost consciousness almost forty five minutes ago, and then I realized the code was glitched and that he and Karl could actually die. I don’t deserve a moment to feel defeated even though I saw Purpled missing both his legs and stayed calm and helped treat him as best as I could without equipment and it still isn’t enough, and I definitely don’t deserve to be frustrated even though I have done <em> everything </em> I can to save all three of them and yet I have to sit by and watch as Karl and Purpled suffer because for some reason, the moderators haven’t put an end to this godforsaken event!” Tubbo finished with a shout, breathing heavily. </p><p>Sapnap stared at him in shock. “I—”</p><p>Tubbo interrupted him, “What have you done, Sapnap?”</p><p>Sapnap stuttered out a weak protest, but Tubbo continued. “I am doing everything I can!” Tubbo screamed, his eyes swimming with tears. “I’m doing everything I can,” he repeated softly as his tears finally spilled over, “but it feels like the universe is working against me right now. I don’t know how Ant is staying calm, but I’m just a kid who’s in over his head. Injuries like this aren’t supposed to happen during events. We aren’t prepared for injuries of this magnitude. We don’t have any equipment, any medicine, or any way of figuring out who else needs help besides running around looking for people. We cut up Techno’s robes to use as bandages, for god’s sake!” Tubbo sounded desperate, as if he were searching for confirmation that it was okay for him to feel so defeated and useless.</p><p>“We have no way to contact the people we’ve sent out to warn the others, no way to know if they’re even <em> alive </em> still! I don’t know what else you want me to do, Sapnap, but if you have any suggestions, I’m all ears,” Tubbo growled, tears still streaming down his face. The clearing was eerily quiet, and even Purpled’s soft whimpers seemed to fade into silence. </p><p>Sapnap took a step back, dropping a shaky hand to his side. “I—” he cleared his throat, his own tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. “I’m sorry,” he managed weakly. </p><p>Everyone in the clearing watched warily as</p><p>Tubbo scoffed, turning on his heel and sitting down next to Karl again. </p><p>Sapnap jolted as someone put their hand on his shoulder, and he spun around to see Dream. </p><p>“I tried to warn you,” Dream whispered sympathetically. </p><p>“I know,” Sapnap responded, sounding completely broken. “I just… I feel useless, and if <em> Tubbo </em> can’t do anything, then there’s really nothing we can do to help them anymore. I can’t… I can’t sit here and watch Karl die!” Sapnap cried, burying his head in Dream’s shoulder. </p><p>Dream wrapped his arms around Sapnap, gently rubbing circles in his back. “There might not be anything we can do for Karl and Tommy right now, but I’m sure Ant could use our help.”</p><p>Ant’s ear twitched at the mention of his name, and he turned to look over his shoulder. “I could, actually,” he confirmed. </p><p>Sapnap took a deep breath, pulling away from Dream. “Alright. Let’s do this.”</p><p>“Sapnap, will you keep cleaning his burns? Make sure not to rub too hard and damage the skin more than it already is. Dream, you come put pressure on this leg so I can use both hands on this one.” Ant instructed as the two got closer. “Techno, you keep holding him down. He’s lost a lot of blood, so in all reality you should be fine to let him go, but I don’t want to risk it.”</p><p>George ran into the clearing, breathless. “Oh, thank god I finally found you. I found a lot of the teams and warned them,” he called. “From what I could see there weren’t any major injuries, but there were a few minor— oh god,” he spotted the group of people huddled around Purpled, all covered in blood. “What happened?”</p><p>“TNT.” Ant responded bluntly, tying a strip of Techno’s robe around Purpled’s calf. “George, do you have a healing potion or a golden apple?”</p><p>George ran over, swiping to open his inventory. “No, sorry. I do have a flint and steel, though.”</p><p>Ant shot up, yanking it out of George’s hand and dropping down next to Purpled again. </p><p>“Wh—” George started. </p><p>“Get wood and build a campfire,” Ant ordered, and George stepped over to the tree, breaking a few branches off and building a small pyre. </p><p>Ant quickly struck the flint and steel, lighting the wood. “Techno, give me a small weapon with a broad, flat side.” Techno drew a hefty throwing knife from his calf, handing it to Ant hilt first. Ant stuck the knife into the fire, slowly heating it. </p><p>“What’re you… oh. Oh.” Dream paled slightly under his mask. </p><p>“Wait, what’s he doing?” George asked, slightly concerned. “Dream?”</p><p>“Cauterizing the wound,” Dream responded, swaying slightly. </p><p>“Don’t tell me you’re getting queasy <em> now</em>,” Techno grumbled. “You’ve been covered in blood for like, fifteen minutes.” </p><p>Ant glanced up at Dream, patience running thin. “If you can’t do this, you need to tell me right now.”</p><p>“I’ll… be fine.” Dream mumbled, wrapping the bandages he was holding tighter around Purpled’s leg. </p><p>Ant nodded. “Purpled, this is going to hurt. A lot.” Purpled nodded blearily, giving a weak thumbs up and smiling as best he could with the stick still in his mouth. “Techno, hold him tighter.” Ant ordered before bringing the broad side of the heated metal down to Purpled’s leg. The scream of agony that ripped out of Purpled’s throat caused the four of them to shudder, and Dream whimpered. </p><p>Ant spared a worried glance at Dream, who shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve never… the people we kill never suffer. They can’t, ‘cause of the code. This is new.” Dream admitted. </p><p>Techno looked over, surprised, “You’ve never killed someone outside of an event?”</p><p>“No.” Dream responded firmly. “Wait. You have?” </p><p>Wilbur crouched down between the two of them, shaking his head slightly at Dream. </p><p>“Not everyone is as lucky as you,” Wilbur said faintly, watching Ant burn Purpled’s wound closed. “If you do that, will a healing potion be able to bring his legs back?” Wilbur expertly changed the subject and leaned in, curious. </p><p>“If it prevented a full recovery, I wouldn’t do it.” Ant replied. Dream’s attention turned back to Purpled as the boy let out another raw scream. He flinched, dropping some of the bandages. Wilbur picked them up, gently pushing Dream away. </p><p>“Here, let me. I’ve done this before. Go take a break.” Wilbur moved in front of Dream, pushing him again so there was room. </p><p>Wilbur expertly tied a few bandages, slowing the blood flow, and used the extra bandages to press on Purpled’s leg, eliciting a quiet whimper from the boy. Dream stood shakily, and George reached over to steady him. </p><p>“Karl’s asleep now, but you three should go be with him. Call me if something changes,” Tubbo said, walking up next to Sapnap. He placed his hand on Sapnap’s shoulder, crouching to whisper something in his ear. Sapnap nodded, smiling softly before handing Tubbo the wet cloth he had been using. Tubbo sat down, and started cleaning Purpled’s burns and scrapes again. The four of them worked in silence, ignoring the quiet cries and piercing screams that came from Purpled as Ant finished cauterizing one leg. </p><p>“Wilbur, switch me.” Ant murmured, standing up after reheating the knife. </p><p>Wilbur scooted over, dipping an extra bandage into the water bucket and cleaning the blood from the sensitive stump of Purpled’s leg. </p><p>“Purpled, do you need a minute?” Ant asked softly, untying the strips of fabric that Wilbur had laced together and feeling a rush of urgency as he saw how slowly the blood was oozing out. <em> Please let him live</em>. <em> Don’t let him die of blood loss out here. Not in front of everyone else.  </em></p><p>Purpled opened his eyes slightly, tears streaming down the side of his face. He shook his head slowly. <em> I can do this, </em> he silently conveyed, determination blazing in his purple irises. He closed his eyes again, biting down on the stick in his mouth, and took a deep breath. </p><p>Ant brought the heated knife down, and Purpled arched his back, letting out a choked cry. Techno immediately tightened his grip, pinning Purpled down. Purpled sucked in desperate gasps of air, his chest heaving. “I’m sorry,” Ant mumbled over and over, pressing on through Purpled’s cries. </p><p>Tubbo sat back after cleaning most of Purpled’s burns and glanced around the clearing, gauging the needs of everyone gathered there. Fundy’s burns would need more attention, and Eret had reopened the cut on his arm covering his ears to block out Purpled’s screams. Niki was still in shock, staring down at her pale and shaking hands, and Karl was still asleep. Tubbo couldn’t see any other injuries that needed tending to. </p><p>“Ant, I’m going to go help Fundy and Eret, then see what I can do for Niki. Once you’re done here, we should probably find our way to everyone else.”</p><p>Ant nodded, focused on the task in front of him. Purpled let out another strangled scream, and Techno loosened his grip slightly to rub soothing circles on Purpled’s shoulders. He leaned over so that Purpled could see his face, the tip of his braid barely brushing against the heaving chest below him. </p><p>“You’re doing amazing. I’m so proud of you. You’re so strong, so strong.” Techno continued to softly murmur praise as Ant finished cauterizing Purpled’s leg. </p><p>Ant gently tapped Purpled’s hip, smiling shakily at him. “All done,” he whispered. </p><p>Purpled relaxed, practically sinking into the ground, and sobbed in relief. He tried to shakily push himself up, only succeeding in collapsing in pain. </p><p>“Hey, hey, don’t do that.” Ant frantically pushed him down. “You need to rest.”</p><p>Purpled mumbled something unintelligible even with Ant’s above average hearing. </p><p>Techno lowered his head, bringing his ear closer to the teen’s mouth. </p><p>Purpled repeated himself and Techno sat up, his eyes widening slightly. </p><p>“Uh… sure.” Techno tapped Ant’s shoulder. “Is everyone ready to move?”</p><p>Ant glanced around, shaking his head. “No, but I’ll let them know it’s time.”</p><p>“Alright.” </p><p>Ant watched curiously as Techno helped Purpled sit up, worry sparking through him. “Oh.” Ant said as he registered what was happening. </p><p>Techno was wrapping his arms gently around Purpled, hugging him tightly as Purpled sobbed into his shoulder. Ant met Techno’s eyes, and Techno shifted uncomfortably. </p><p><em> I don’t know what I’m doing, </em> Techno mouthed. </p><p>Ant snorted. <em> You’re doing great, </em>he mouthed back, his tail flicking in amusement. </p><p>Techno flushed slightly, reaching for his pig skull mask that lay discarded on the ground. </p><p>Ant did a double take, finally registering that Techno had removed the mask in the first place. <em> So that’s what he looks like. </em> He looked around the clearing, but it seemed that not everyone had noticed. He nodded once to himself, mentally making a list of everyone he was sure had seen Techno’s face.</p><p>Techno adjusted the strap as best he could with one hand, clicking his tongue in frustration but unwilling to let go of Purpled. Ant stood up and moved behind Techno, taking the strap from him and securing it.  </p><p>“Thanks,” Techno mumbled. </p><p>“Anytime. Can you carry Purpled?” Ant gently ruffled the boy’s sandy hair, smiling when purple irises shining with tears emerged from the bright white of Techno’s shirt. </p><p>Techno stood, adjusting his grip on Purpled. “Just keep your arms around my neck like you’re doing,” Techno mumbled quietly, forming a makeshift seat out of his forearms in order to support Purpled. </p><p>“You ready?” Tubbo asked, jogging over. </p><p>Techno nodded, careful not to jostle Purpled. </p><p>“Ant?” </p><p>When he didn’t respond, Techno and Tubbo turned to him. </p><p>Ant was staring down at his arms, his shirt, his pants; staring down at the blood coating nearly every inch of him. His adrenaline rush was fading, and his exhaustion and fear were catching up to him. He fell to his knees, shaking. </p><p>“Ant!” Tubbo dropped next to him, reaching out to steady him. “Ant, are you alright?”</p><p>Ant took a shuddering breath, looking up into Tubbo’s eyes. “I’ve never done that,” he breathed out. “I was so worried that it wouldn’t work, and that Purpled would die because I couldn’t do anything.”</p><p>“But it did work,” Tubbo said. </p><p>Ant tilted his head up at the sky, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath. “Yeah. He’s going to be okay.” He dropped his head, exhaling. He stood slowly, clapping Tubbo on the back. “Let’s go save everyone else.”</p><p>“Yeah!” Tubbo cheered. </p><p>Ant clapped his hands, yelling, “Let’s get going! The sooner we can meet up with everyone else, the sooner we can get actual medical treatment for everyone who needs it.”</p><p>Everyone in the clearing shuffled to their feet, moving to gather around Ant and Tubbo. </p><p>Tubbo did a quick tally, making sure they had everyone. Eret was gently guiding Niki, and Fundy was trailing behind them. Dream was lifting a groggy Karl onto his back while Sapnap watched worriedly. George had drawn his sword to defend his friends if any mobs should appear. Bad and Skeppy had also drawn their weapons, laughing quietly about something. Wilbur was gently picking Tommy up, carrying him the way Techno had when he had brought him into the clearing. Techno had Purpled, and Ant was behind Tubbo. </p><p>Tubbo nodded, turning to Ant. “We’ve got every—” Tubbo froze, turning back around and looking at everyone again. “Shit.”</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Ant put a hand on Tubbo’s shoulder, concern drenching his words. Tubbo ignored him, looking around the group once more. </p><p>“Where’s Quackity?” Tubbo called anxiously.</p>
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